Pep Guardiola shares Douglas Luiz admission ahead of Aston Villa clash v Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has admitted he couldn’t play Douglas Luiz at Manchester City due to the now-Aston Villa star not being able to obtain a work permit there.
Luiz, 25, has been a star player at Villa Park since being signed by the Villans from Man City in July 2019.
Unai Emery’s side travel to the Etihad to play Man City on Wednesday night (3 April) and ahead of the Premier League showdown, Guardiola has spoken highly of his former midfielder.
“Because of a [lack of] work permit, it was not possible [for him] to be with us,” Guardiola said, as quoted by BirminghamLive on 2 April.
“He had to make steps so he went [on loan] to Girona and now he’s settled perfectly at Villa, so I’m happy for him.”
Could Douglas Luiz leave Aston Villa in the summer?
There is no doubt that Luiz has been one of the most important players for the Villans since Unai Emery took over last campaign.
The Brazil international picked up six goals and six assists [Fbref] as he helped inspire Villa to European football for the first time in over ten years.
He has continued this rich goal-involvement vein of form this season with nine goals and five assists with eight Premier League games remaining.
This has sparked conversation regarding a potential move away from Villa Park with many Premier League giants interested in his signature.
Links to Arsenal have been rife but a return to his former club could be on the cards especially given recent praise from Guardiola [The Mirror].
Although these links may be hard to turn down for Luiz, Villa needs to do all they can to keep hold of their midfield gem.
He currently has the highest rating of any one of his teammates [FotMob] with 7.52 and has the third-highest goal involvement number this campaign.
His importance within the Villans’ squad can not be understated and Emery needs to him to maintain their Champions League push.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has reacted as a Villa flop is closing in on a £4million exit.
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